Press release

A success story, on and off the court: Shunichi Kawai

Former Japanese star Shunichi Kawai is attending the World Cup as a co-commentator for Fuji TV

Osaka, Japan, November 24, 2011 – Although he is a two-time Olympian, Shunichi Kawai is currently much more popular as an anchorman who is regularly hosting a couple of TV shows here in Japan.

Kawai was a long-time member of Japan men’s national team and after he stopped playing embarked on a business career that keeps him extremely busy. “I still have sweet memories from my first Olympics that date back to Los Angeles 1984. As we were supposed to join the opening ceremony and to march into the Olympic stadium, our officials told us we could not take our cameras and we were expected to behave diligently. We stuck to their recommendations but once the Americans came in, and they were the last delegation to join the parade, I saw they were really relaxed, wearing funny gadgets, launching frisbees, so there I realized we were somehow wrong, we also had to enjoy that unique moment”.

Kawai, who was a team mate of current Japan women's coach Masayoshi Manabe, did not medal in Los Angeles and although the expectations were really high, team Japan failed to make it to the top three also four years later in Seoul. Shunichi-san recalls a funny story thereby comparing his times with the current trends in volleyball. “Back then we did not have that much knowledge about nutrition, so the day before we started our campaign, we ate a lot of meat, thinking that this was going to contribute the right energy for the matches to come. This eventually was not the case and I envy our players as this lack of knowledge has been compensated and much attention is being paid to every single detail”.

After the group mentored by Yatsutaka Matsudaira got hero-status by winning the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Japan men’s national team has struggled to compete with the best teams from Europe and the Americas. While the ladies struck bronze at last year’s World Champs, the men are away from the top. Kawai has got a good explanation for that negative trend: “Most of our young children here in Japan are attracted by other sports like baseball or soccer. Even if they are talented or have got the right potential as volleyball players, if there is no volleyball team at their high school, they end up by switching to other sports. If you take other countries like Cuba, this does not happen. If they discover a young boy with the right potential, he is immediately sent to a training centre where he gradually grows up”.

Kawai is an extremely successful businessman who – as mentioned – hosts a couple of TV shows, actually talk shows that have been running for 15 and 6 years respectively. He also assists Japanese companies that want to settle in Vietnam and regularly travels there to help them exploit the good opportunities currently offered by that country. However, his absolute passions remain volleyball and beach volleyball. After he retired from competitive sport, Kawai moved to the US, staying in Santa Monica, California, for three months where he got to know beach volleyball. “By that time this sport was rather unknown in Japan, so as I got back home, my intention was to help promote this discipline and make it popular. Beach volleyball has got great appeal also for those who are normally not that interested in the sport, as they assume that if they go the stadium, they will have the chance to see pretty girls in action. I have worked intensively to support the sport in Japan and apart from the disposal of strong teams, I was searching for someone that was good looking and likely to turn into a good ambassador for the sport. We have found the right girl, Asao Miwa, she is only the fifth best player in Japan, but she looks pretty, and has signed very good contracts for commercials and other business”.

Being the President of the Japan Beach Volleyball Federation, Kawai is nevertheless still involved also in volleyball: he coaches three teams representing local high schools, with “his” boys from Niigata being set to compete at the nationals scheduled for next spring. “I have to admit that I am very busy but I have a good manager and she is always calling to remind me the many tasks and commitments I have” he smiles.

Questioned about his favorite player, Kawai says Giba is outstanding, but he also likes Japan captain Daisuke Usami, as he always stays calm and drives the team with the right spirit. “My favorite all time player remains the former Soviet star Alexander Savin” he concludes, hoping that his voice – he is co-commentating the FIVB World Cup for Fuji TV – will boost the Japanese heroes to their first win in the tournament.
Download highresolution